Oh man, this title reminds me of that two-parter at the end of Star Trek: Enterprise where Trip and T’pol discover that they have a baby (er, a clone baby) and there’s this really racist guy who just wants to ruin the Coalition of Planets (AKA the Federation) and then the baby DIES and it’s just all so very sad and it makes me cry.
However, I don’t think we’ll see any Vulcans nor hybrid babies nor Trip/T’pol here. That’s okay. But maybe SG-1 will be facing some inner demons..? Who knows!
SG-1 enters into a pretty planet with lots of nice trees and a convenient little path back to civilization. Except that, back through the trees, they see… a church. As in, a Christian church. That’s pretty interesting, and something we haven’t seen before.
There’s an interesting bit where Teal’c mentions he’s read the Bible, of course as an insight into Tau’ri culture and beliefs. It’s here where he states it is unlikely a Goa’uld would impersonate the Abrahamic “God”, since no Goa’uld has been known to show that sort of compassion. It’s a sneaky little way the writers paint Christianity in a largely positive light, especially when comparing it. Hm… Just a thought.
Anyhow, the team approaches a village where people are living simply. They of course freak out and shut all the doors when SG-1 comes in. They find a woman chained up to a post, presumably dead.
Hm… Now where’s that compassion you were talking about, Teal’c?
Oh, wait, never mind, she’s not dead, and a villager by the name of Simon comes and thinks that they’re demons come to take a sacrifice. O’Neill quickly disperses these fears, frees the woman, Mary, and they go into Simon’s house.
Mary’s got chicken pox (oh man, had that when I was four, no fun) but she’ll be okay. Outside, a figure approaches, and he looks awfully like an Unas… And, yup, he is. Man, I hate those guys. They’re so ugly. Apparently this one’s working for Sokar (when do we get to meet this guy, anyways?) and he demands five sacrifices.
O’Neill’s obviously not going to let that happen, and they plan to take down the Unas working for Sokar. A leader among them, the “canon”, is the one who chooses the sacrifices. The canon doesn’t like them at first (no one really does) and he has a particular issue with Teal’c. (Aww!) He refuses their help and swipes his fingers over some kind of device, which shoots lightning down and strikes them.
(Whoa! That’s what I call “smite”.)
Carter, Jackson, and O’Neill wake up in a cell, but Teal’c isn’t with them. (No! Teal’c!) Simon tells them that Teal’c is going to be “tested”… and I hate where this is going. I really, really, REALLY hate it.
They’ve got him strapped to a pole, and looks like he’s been beaten up a little, too. They try to brand him on his Serpent Mark, and when he doesn’t react, that’s.. not a good sign.
They then take him to a lake, chained down, and throw him down!!!
CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP—
OH GOD.
Oh my god I hate this the scene changes to a monastery and Teal’c’s body is on a slab and he’s dead (to the best of my knowledge) and I simply can’t see how this will end well because WE CAN’T HAVE FREAKING STARGATE WITHOUT TEAL’C.
The canon wants the rest of SG-1 to be on their collective way, but of course they’re pissed about Teal’c being… dead. (Oh god I hate typing that. JUST LIKE THE ENTERPRISE EPISODE.)
(On another note he looks really good with a tank top, not that that makes me much happier since he’s DEAD.)
Of course, we’ve still got the little issue of the Unas and Sokar and all that.
Jackson goes off to try to help Mary, and manages to get to Simon just before the “cleansing”, AKA drilling a hole into her head. He says he can bring them with SG-1 back to Earth.
Back with Teal’c’s… body… they have wrapped him in a cloth of sorts and suddenly.. he starts to move!
Teal’c!
He’s alive!
Yaaaaaaaaaay!! YAAAAAAY!!!
Well, that was weird. Wait, how’s he alive? Oh, right, the symbiote! Ah, way to go Junior! Love!
The canon’s not happy and now they’re just going to kill everyone. DANGIT, WHY?! I don’t understand this! Why can’t he just be happy! Oh, no, it’s worse. They’re the ones going to be sacrificed to Sokar. Which means they’ll be hosts. Except for Teal’c, of course, who’ll probably just be killed because all the Goa’uld kinda hate him.
The Unas comes in and undoes all their chains from the device they’re attached to. He’s not happy about them since they’re not from this place – except for Mary of course. Nonetheless, he takes them away.
They get the brilliant idea of rolling down the hill to wrench away from the Unas, and then it’s RUN THROUGH THE FOREST TIME! And then, just as the Unas catches up, Simon shows up with Teal’c’s staff gun and tries to shoot the Unas, but to no avail. Eventually, though, they get out of the chains and the staff is back in Teal’c’s hands.
Somehow, the canon was able to kill the Unas, and now he realizes, “Oh, SG-1 was right.”
Duh!
So of course, everyone’s okay, except for the Unas of course, and the canon is enlightened, and now everyone is enlightened, and they dial home, but – oh crap, Carter just realized that
THE CANON IS A GOA’ULD NOW.
O’Neill shoots him and the canon’s dead… but so is the Goa’uld. They plan to bury the ‘Gate, so no more Sokar! Yay!
And did I mention? Teal’c’s alive. That’s always a good thing.
Final thoughts… Okay, first of all, I felt like an idiot for not thinking that our little wormy friend Junior could save Teal’c, which it did, thank goodness. But he looked pretty dead on that table. Of all the possibilities that sprang into my mind, the most obvious never did. Funny how that works!
Anyways, well, I guess that no religion is safe from the Goa’uld, huh? I know a lot of the focus has been on Egyptian and even Hindu and Chinese mythologies, but I suppose this was inevitable. Being a Christian myself made it even more interesting, given the mentalities of that very early Christian period. That said, in terms of a timeline, if these people were taken during the Dark Ages, how come they never evolved out of that time period? Did Sokar simply not allow it? And why take the role of Satan, rather than the Abrahamic “God” himself? So many things I want to know about this Sokar guy!
There’s another interesting little tidbit: How different people reacted to SG-1. Where the canon was fearful and judgmental, Simon is willing to hear O’Neill out and is far more trusting. In fact, in Hebrew, the name means, “He who hears the word of God”. In essence, the canon is “deaf”, in opposition to Simon, who “hears”. It’s a very interesting bit of symbolism I don’t think was purely coincidental. Where the canon was drunk with power, Simon merely wanted to do the right thing.
Maybe it wasn’t the greatest episode ever, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Hm… You guys don’t think I should check the pastor’s neck next time I go to church, should I?
…Nah. Pastor Jesse’s cool.
PREDICTION/REFLECTION THINGY
(The crew thinks back on the last mission.)
O’Neill: ‘Demons’… Huh. That was a new one.
Jackson: Well, given our advanced technology and strange ideas, what were they supposed to think?
Carter: And I can’t say many people have ever reacted well to us coming through the ‘Gate.
Teal’c: It is unfortunate that we come through with the best intentions, only to face fear from those we encounter.
O’Neill: Tell me about it. Bible say anything about that?
Teal’c: No, but the Upaniṡads-
Jackson: You’ve read those too?
Teal’c: Indeed. I have also studied the Bhagavad Gīta, the Tanakh, the Quran, the Amitabha, the…
Carter: Wow.
O’Neill: I… think we get the idea.
Jackson: Wish I had that much free time!
You wrote: "why take the role of Satan, rather than the Abrahamic “God” himself?"
ReplyDeleteWell, being the most loving and generous being in the universe is a lot to live up to! Not to mention very un-goa'uld like ...
You'll meet Sokar eventually. He's icky.
I liked Jack's comment about the Bible - "I'm listening to it on tape. Don't tell me how it ends."
David
David: Teal'c, you read the Bible ... what prompted you to do that?
ReplyDeleteTeal'c: Christianity seems to be a significant part of Western culture. I was also curious about the idea of a benevolent and compassionate God who does not enslave his subjects.
David: What have you discovered in the Bible so far?
Teal'c: Many noble themes ... self-sacrifice, justice, love for one's people. Judgement upon the wicked.
David: Many people find it difficult to reconcile God's love with his judgement ... you sound OK with it?
Teal'c: If you had seen the things I have seen, you would know that a loving God would not allow evil to continue forever without consequence.
David: OK. So what have you found in the Bible about God's love?
Teal'c: That he is far more loving than I. Nothing would induce me to give my life for my enemies, let alone send my son Rya'c to do so.
David: How about God's forgiveness? With your past, the idea of your sins being forgiven must mean a lot to you.
Teal'c: I cannot hope to atone for the evils I have done. All I can wish for is to bring solace to individuals whom I have wronged and whose loved ones I have taken as slaves for the Goa'uld.
David: Well ... the whole idea is that Jesus died to atone for our sins, right? So we don't need to try and do it ourselves. The point is that we didn't do anything to deserve it, God's forgiveness is just a gift that we get for free.
Teal'c: Such a prospect is most appealing, but I cannot dismiss the many evils that I have done. I must face the consequences of my actions. To do otherwise would seem unjust.
David: Jesus has already taken the consequences for your sins - that's what happened when he died. He took the punishment you deserved because he couldn't stand the thought of you having to take it. All we need to do is accept his forgiveness as a gift, and that's it - no more punishment forever.
Teal'c: Would not many people take advantage of such a situation, being forgiven but continuing to do evil? I would not wish the Goa'uld to hear such a message. Heaven would not be very desirable in their presence.
David: I doubt if a Goa'uld would ever become a Christian, but if one did, it would not remain the same. Forgiveness isn't all that happens when someone comes to God. He also gives them "life". It isn't just Jesus' death that's important, his resurrection is part of the whole deal too. Another way of saying this is that when you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit comes and lives inside you.
Teal'c: Such an event sounds suspiciously like blending with a Goa'uld symbiote, or perhaps a Tok'ra.
David: Not really! A Goau'ld would override you and suppress your free will. With the Holy Spirit it is more like a partnership. But it is not quite like the Tok'ra either, with a separate set of memories and desires; Christians become "one" with the Holy Spirit. They have desires and longings that originate with God, but are truly their own as well. If you're curious about this, check out Philippians 2:13 and 1 Corinthians 15:10.
Teal'c: Most interesting. I believe I shall do so.
David: One other thing. Many people believe Christianity is all about being "good". As I said, when someone becomes a Christian, God changes them and gives them a new set of desires. But God doesn't forgive us on the condition that we change. First we are forgiven - forever, our past, present and future sins included - and then we are changed. The order is important: you don't "be good" in order to become a Christian. In fact, to become a Christian, first you have to stop trying to be good enough for God. You come as you are, and get forgiven for free, not because you've done anything to qualify. Otherwise God wouldn't call it a "free gift". You don't pay for a gift; it costs the giver everything but the receiver nothing.
Teal'c: Indeed.
From this episode on, Jack consistently has a scar in his left eyebrow. So consistently, in fact, that some people thought RDA had a scar there (he doesn't; the make-up people razored it in).
ReplyDeleteSeaboe